SAN DIEGO A GO GO!!!!!!!!

After having survived imminent doom on 5/21/11 we were ready for some vacation time. Enter Memorial Day!  With an extended weekend we decided we should go down to San Diego and get some multi-day passes for Sea World, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (the Park formerly known as the San Diego Wild Animal Park) and the World Famous San Diego Zoo.

I had never been to Sea World before and Andrea had never been to the Zoo, so we were prepared to be dazzled.

We started out with Sea World, first stop - PENGUINS!!

Not a great picture, but you can't use your flash and I couldn't find anything to steady the camera on :(

We then waddled over to get on the Wild Arctic Ride to see other Arctic animals such as Polar Bears, Beluga Whales, and a Walrus.  (Just in case you find yourself debating on whether you should wait in line for this ride or just go on to the animals, I suggest skipping it)

The Polar Bears were off to a disappointing start as far as entertainment value was concerned.

After we were done freezing we made our way over to the Sharks!  It was REALLY cool and there was even a small koi pond-ish aquarium that had clown fish in them (or as many parents referred them: "nemos").  I had no idea how tiny they were!  I can only blame nature documentaries for zooming in so much on the little fish so that I can't do anything but be shocked when I see one in real life.

These are sharks, not clown fish

Having massive sharks swim all around you can be pretty intense so we relaxed a little bit with a "skyride" over part of Mission Bay.

And finally the piece de resistance, the Killer Whale show!

A few months ago Andrea and I went to the aquarium at the end of the pier at Manhattan Beach and I found out that Killer Whales eat other whales and sharks!  I knew that they ate seals and loads of fish, but I was unaware that whales and sharks were a part of their diet.  I thought that was cool and immediately placed them on my list of favorite animals.  That added to the fact that these are HUGE creatures that jump completely out of the water and do flips made this a very impressive and entertaining show.

When the show was over it was now closing time; all the fishies, mammals, reptiles, etc. had to get ready for bed.  Andrea and I, on the other hand, were far from ready to end the festivities.  Since we weren't too far from Old Town San Diego we cruised on over and found some parking by the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.  Since it was still open we decided on checking it out; it was very, VERY different from what I was expecting!

Along the way we were outfitted in the gear the soldiers wore (we split it up because Andrea wasn't going to stay behind/go to Utah when I was going to be going to Sunny San Diego!)

 and even became honorary members of the Battalion.

Not a bad way to start the holiday.